Its like this:
 When a guy who looks like a bad ass Harley rider is a bad ass motherfucker = Much respect and fear
 When a guy who looks like a bad ass Harley rider cries when he gets a parking ticket = FAIL!
 When a guy on a GSXR-1000, dressed like Nicky Hayden, spins his rear tire out of a corner at full lean while his knee and elbow are planted on the ground = Bow down!
 When a guy on a GSXR-1000, dressed like Nicky Hayden, tries to do a stoppie but crashes because he used the rear brake instead of the front: IDIOT!
 When a GENCON guy dressed like a Ninja can run up the side of a two story building while slicing grapes using shuriken = Real Ultimate Power!
 When a GENCON guy dressed like a Ninja, but is 200lbs overweight and takes the escalator while choking down two slices of pepperoni pizza = Fail.

I see where you're going but I think it's stated a little narrowly. Bad-assed motherfuckers can cry whenever the fuck they want. Nicky Hayden probably crashed a few times learning to do stoppies too. People can still love Ninjas even if they aren't Ninjas (or maybe it's a really good disguise).

Dressing like the things you love in order to wear your heart on your sleeve is very different from the delusion that dressing a certain way makes you a certain thing.